Non-destructive comparative evaluation of fossil amber using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

PLoS One. 2022 Mar 30;17(3):e0262983. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262983. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Fossilized plant resins, or ambers, offer a unique paleontological window into the history of life. A natural polymer, amber can preserve aspects of ancient environments, including whole organisms, for tens or even hundreds of millions of years. While most amber research involves imaging with visual light, other spectra are increasingly used to characterize both organismal inclusions as well as amber matrix. Terahertz (THz) radiation, which occupies the electromagnetic band between microwave and infrared light wavelengths, is non-ionizing and frequently used in polymer spectroscopy. Here, we evaluate the utility of amber terahertz spectroscopy in a comparative setting for the first time by analyzing the terahertz optical properties of samples from 10 fossil deposits ranging in age from the Miocene to the Early Cretaceous. We recover no clear relationships between amber age or botanical source and terahertz permittivity; however, we do find apparent deposit-specific permittivity among transparent amber samples. By comparing the suitability of multiple permittivity models across sample data we find that models with a distribution of dielectric relaxation times best describe the spectral permittivity of amber. We also demonstrate a process for imaging amber inclusions using terahertz transmission and find that terahertz spectroscopy can be used to identify some synthetic amber forgeries.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amber* / chemistry
  • Fossils
  • Paleontology / methods
  • Resins, Plant
  • Terahertz Spectroscopy*

Substances

  • Amber
  • Resins, Plant

Grants and funding

This project was partially funded by a Faculty Seed Grant from the New Jersey Institute of Technology to PB and JF.